Brigadeiros and fanfare

The World Cup is in full swing and I haven’t even mentioned it. I love any excuse for a themed post , but I realised recently that I haven’t taken the opportunity yet.

So I did some Googling. Having never been to Brazil, I’m not an expert on Brazilian cuisine (not that lack of experience stopped me having a go at foreign sweets before!) I am, however, a keen reader; Google, Pinterest and Instagram have taught me lots about Brazil in a relatively short amount of time.

I’ve learned that Brazilians seem to have a love of caramel and sweetened condensed milk.

I, therefore, love Brazil!

You thought the fanfare was going to be about soccer? Puh-lease.

My nanna used to love sweetened condensed milk. She once told me that she and her siblings would dip bread into a saucer of the sweet stuff as a treat. She’s definitely passed on her appreciation of it to me. I could eat it by the jarful if it weren’t so sweet that it made me slightly loopy.

I could drink it straight from the can.

Swim in a pool full of it.

You get the point.

As an homage to an ingredient so sweet that even I have to have it in moderation, I present you with the delightful, perfectly-mouth-sized, and delicious brigadeiros. They’re a Brazilian sweet, so I guess I’m kind of partaking in World Cup fever as well!

They’re basically a squidgy (but not-too-soft) caramel covered in sprinkles. It is the greatest union ever. They also require very few ingredients, which is always a plus.

Brigadeiros:

Makes 30

45g chocolate

20g butter

1 egg yolk

395g sweetened condensed milk

6 tbsp sprinkles

Pop your chocolate, butter and sweetened condensed milk in a pan over a medium-low, mixing until the ingredients are melted and combined. Turn the heat down to low, add the egg yolk and mix well. Continue stirring as the mixture slowly bubbles away.

Make sure that you scrape the bottom of the pan well so that the mixture doesn’t burn. It might look a little lumpy, but don’t worry – as long as you do your best to get rid of big lumps, you’ll be fine. Remove the pan from the heat after ten minutes of stirring, then set aside to allow it to cool, which should take 10-15 minutes.

While the mixture is cooling, grab a bowl and pour your sprinkles into it. If you want to do half colourful, half chocolate sprinkles like me, you only need 3 tablespoons of each.

Once the mixture has cooled, grab small chunks of it (about a teaspoon’s worth) and roll it in your sprinkles straight away. It may take a few rotations to get a good coverage. Set it to one side and continue with the remainder of the mixture.

Pop them in the fridge for ten minutes (or until you want to serve them) so that they harden up slightly.

When left at room temperature they will retain their shape, but soften slightly. And they won’t last long!